“Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…” (Matthew 5:1-2) Most Christians don’t realize that the Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount actually lasted for several days. That’s because many of us only associate the Beatitudes with the Sermon of the Mount. The truth is Jesus spent the better part of a week encouraging and instructing believers about other equally important issues like witnessing, obedience, prophecy, anger, lust, divorce, integrity, retaliation, […]

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) Well it’s January 2 and your test has arrived. That’s right, I said test. Don’t you remember? It was just the other night, New Year’s Eve, when you told your spouse, a child, or perhaps a friend about your New Year’s resolution. The question now is are you going to abandon it like you abandoned the ones you made last year, and the year before? I know how you […]

“This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’”.” (Matthew 3:11) The immortal words of John the Baptist, “Repent… for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” had a great deal to do with my own salvation. I heard those words just a few days before I was saved, proclaimed from the back of pickup truck by a couple of teenagers running down an old country road […]

“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) The gospel rests on three giant pillars: Jesus’ virgin birth, atoning death, and bodily resurrection. The Easter season celebrates Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christmas focuses solely on the virgin birth. You can’t call yourself a Christian if you don’t believe in the virgin birth. I remember my doubt about it as an unbeliever. I thought it defied one of the most basic laws of nature. So […]